A Night with Scarecrow
by C.Ashford
Summary: When Johnathan Crane is in the mood to test, nothing can stop him from sending yet another of Gotham's citizens into a state of fear and terror. Second in a series of villainous one-shots, please review if you liked it and say who you want to see next!


First test subject of the day, let's hope this is more enlightening than the last.

"Now...let's begin the experiment"

Scarecrow pulled the rack of instruments along the wall until they reached the centre, directly facing his involuntary test subject. "Are you ready to start speaking normally now...Detective Bullock?"

Scarecrow ripped the tape off his victim's mouth, leaving a red mark on the overweight detective's face, "Go to hell Crane. You want me to talk? I'll sing like a canary for the right price. But try and force me into one of your little chairs and shove green crap down my throat? You've got another thing coming, ya skinny bastard" He spat into Scarecrow's sack of a face.

It was difficult to tell through the aforementioned mask, but Scarecrow smiled, an evil, despicable smile.

I will break him. He may not believe it to be possible, but I will break him. It just takes time.

He clicked a button on the table next to him, beginning the tape recording.

"Date: August 5th. Test subject number 406, also known as Detective Harvey Bullock of the GCPD. Today we will be testing the latest production of toxin, on a stubborn mind."

He examined the tools on the rack with glimmer in his dark, soulless eye.

How shall I inject them today? A simple needle to the cranium?

He picked up a long syringe dripping with the infamous toxin.

Pill form?

His bony fingers wrapped around a small bottle of green tablets.

Or even...surgery...

He held up a metal, serrated knife in one hand and vial of the liquid in another, just so that Bullock could see what he was doing.

"This ain't gonna work Crane! You ain't gonna scare me with kitchen utensils!"

Crane smiled, "Many use humour as a coping mechanism for fear. We shall soon find out if this is the truth for you as well..."

Scarecrow walked away from the rack, his hands empty, "I'm now going to perform a short series of tests, Detective. The first one should arrive any moment now...but first, take a look at this."

He held up a misshapen ink blot on a piece of card, "tell me...what do you see?"

Bullock sighed and took a long, hard look at the blot, "It's...it's two bears high fiving"

"Very good. Bring in the first test!"

Two men wearing burlap sacks on their heads entered the room, one pushing the other. The one doing the pushing, who had eyeholes in the sack, tore the other one's off to reveal a man in his late 30s with wild, terrified eyes.

"Please..." He began to cry, "Please just let me die...please..."He looked up and saw the Scarecrow staring down at him, "Oh God! Please! Please! Just leave me alone!"

Scarecrow took a gun from his pocket and fired a single shot into the man's temple, silencing him instantly.

"Test subject 405 is now deceased" he gestured for the body to be dragged away, "Now Detective; how do you feel?"

Bullock was quiet for a moment before cracking a slight smile and staring at Crane where he pictured his eyes would be, "you think you'll scare me with murder Crane? It's nothing I haven't seen, you lunatic..."

Crane took another card and held it up to Bullock's face, "now, tell me again; what do you see?"

Harvey squinted for a moment, "It's a face...like the outline of a face..."

"Good...now tell me Bullock, what are you afraid of?"

"Like I'm telling you. Piss off Crane."

"Very well..." Scarecrow picked up a folder on the table beside him, "let's see what it says in your psych file from your recruit days at the GCPD..."

Bullock's eyes grew wide with fear, "how...how did you get that?"

"You have your ways Detective...I have mine"

He looked over it.

Haha, how trivial, but impossible in such close quarters. It seems we shall be taking a little trip to the roof, time to pack the essentials...

He picked up a vial and a syringe and grabbed the back of Bullock's chair. "It seems we're going on a little trip Harvey...hold tight" he placed the tape recorder on the detective's lap and wheeled them out of the room.

"Heights Bullock? I thought you would be more complex than that..." He wheeled the obese lawman to the edge of the roof, hearing his protests all the way.

"No please..."

"I'm sorry for what I said..."

"Please stop it Crane..."

"Crane!"

Oh how the mighty do fall...

He stopped right before he went off the edge, "have fun Detective... I know I will" and with that he pushed the chair off the roof.

As his underlings pulled the tether attached to the chair back up, Scarecrow spoke to the recording, "it seems that even the most stubborn, corrupt of minds, will still falter under enough...pressure. Bullock's screams shall remain on record"

"You...sick...bastard..." Harvey muttered between deep breaths, "you...sick...sick bastard"

"You're too kind Mr Bullock, now tell me..." He picked up another card, "what do you see?"

"You monster...it's...it's a skull. It's a deformed skull..."

"Excellent progress Detective. Now unfortunately it is time for the final test"

My favourite part of any toxin trial, it seems, is always the most obvious.

He held up the syringe full of green liquid, "now...hold still" he jabbed the needle with full force into Bullock's neck, and slowly the toxin took effect.

"What? What's...what's going on...oh God, Crane get me out of here...Crane you psychopath let me go!" He began to scream, kicking at invisible creatures at his feet and thrashing about madly. Crane knew what would happen next, for some reason they all saw the same thing, no matter which version of the toxin they were given.

Hehehe.

"Please Crane stop!"

"Detective Bullock..."

"Stop it please!"

"Tell me please..."

"Crane!"

He held up a card to Bullock's red face, "what do you see?"

Bullock glanced at the card, then at Scarecrow, then at the card. His eyes were terrified and wider than ever before.

"It's you! I see you!" He screamed.

"Finally!" Scarecrow threw the card away, which had been identical to all the others, "are you scared Detective?!"

"Yes! Yes I'm scared! Just end it please!"

"Stop there Crane! GCPD; put your hands behind your head!"

"Get him out of here!" Police Commissioner Gordon shouted at the task force who had subdued Crane without much resistance. He put a hand on Bullock's shoulder, his former partner turning to him and swatting it away, as if it might kill him, before going back to shivering and staring at the floor. Gordon balled his hand into a fist, "Arkham and Blackgate are too good for you Crane!" He shouted angrily at him, "I'll see you hang for what you've done today!"

Jonathan Crane, now unmasked to show off his satisfied smirk merely laughed at the Commissioner, "I don't think you quite realise Mr Gordon..." He gestured to the ornament hanging around his neck, "I already have..."

Gordon could only watch as the cackling Scarecrow was dragged away by his officers, but he would be hearing that disgusting laugh in his nightmares for a long, long time.


End file.
